


night terrors

by Minkey222



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Bucky Barnes Returns, Fluff, Guilty Steve, Hurt Steve Rogers, Nightmares, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Protective Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 23:48:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7953838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minkey222/pseuds/Minkey222
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But now they were here, the fifth nightmare this week, it only being Wednesday, and Bucky was vehemently refusing to let Steve down the gym if only to save his knuckles some of the torment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	night terrors

**Author's Note:**

> I got another prompt, but I don't have it to hand so you'll just have to deal with it. I guess, I just wanted a hurt Steve, protective Bucky, you know, 'cause people tend to focus on Bucky being the weak one but everyone seems to forget about Steve. Remember comments are always welcome!

“Stevie, please, for me?” Bucky says, holding his arms out for Steve, a weary look settled on his face. This has been a reoccurring event recently, especially since the troubles. The group were working back to unity but there were still remnants of the discourse that happened. After everything, he’d gotten better and Stark had finally reached out to begin the healing process. Things were going swimmingly, the team was whole again, the family was back together- And Steve was running himself into the ground with guilt and stress and most nights were interrupted because he’d wake up from yet another nightmare and steadfastly refuse to go back to sleep, opting instead to head to the gym and pummel a few innocent punching bags until they split. What the punching bags did to deserve it, Bucky would never know.

But now they were here, the fifth nightmare this week, it only being Wednesday, and Bucky was vehemently refusing to let Steve down the gym if only to save his knuckles some of the torment. Steve wasn’t having it.

“Buck, just leave it alone. I can handle it.” Steve said, turning from Bucky with his arms crossed over his chest. Bucky mused that he looked like a petulant toddler, pout and all.

“I wouldn’t call punching something until your hands bleed, ‘handling it’,” He pointed out and Steve just made a pathetic little noise in the back of his throat and Bucky could tell that he was choking down tears.

“I just- I just feel so _bad_ about what happened, Buck. I know I will never be able to take it, any of it, back. I just keep seeing his face. Jesus, Buck, I was going to kill him” Steve is crying unabashedly now and Bucky just steps forwards and places his hand on his shoulder, leading him to the sofa and softly pushing him down onto it. Gently sitting next to him, not once breaking the contact, letting Steve feel his presence. He just lets Steve weep into his shoulder, moving his hand so that his arm is draped across Steve.

He understands where Steve is coming from, he had been torn up about what had happened to everyone but he needs to try and understand that he isn’t the only one to blame for everything. Bucky sighs, rubbing Steve’s back as he hiccups, Steve just piles this guilt on top of himself, He thinks, sure Steve could have handled it a bit more gently, perhaps talking instead of rushing head first, but Tony could have done the same thing, rather than blaming Steve completely in the first place, victimising himself and villainizing Bucky. Tony could have seen what was happening in shades of grey rather than seeing some deviation in his _perfect plan_ and immediately wanting to eradicate it. That was just the tip of the iceberg as well, there were so many other factors that played into what happened that had nothing to even do with Steve. Hell, even he was to blame partly and yet Steve didn’t see it.

“And the worst part is that I’d do it all again, just to get you back, Buck. That isn’t okay,” Steve all but whispered into the cloth of Bucky’s pyjamas and he sighed again.

“Stevie, you gotta stop this. You did what you thought was right. You were alone in a place that you didn’t understand and you did what you had to in order to get back some of your old life back. I’m not saying that you ain’t a punk for what happened, but I’m saying that it isn’t your fault for what happened. I would have probably done the same thing if the positions were swapped.” He explained calmly, rubbing circles into Steve’s back.

“Just after what happened today- I was scared to drive them away again,”Steve admitted and Bucky had to suppress yet another sigh, he had guessed that this was coming. Once the team had started to rebuild everything, Steve had been walking on eggshells, sidestepping around his teammates trying to distance himself from them as much as possible so that he could quote-on-quote ‘avoid another war’.  It had worked he supposed, the team was healing well enough but that meant that the team was getting closer again, becoming a family again and well, with family come arguments. Especially when Tony was involved.

There had been a bit of a blowout today over dinner, something someone said had sparked up a lively debate which had then ended with Tony saying something that overstepped a boundary or two and Steve had responded with something else that had obviously touched a nerve. Only this time, instead of brushing it off, apologising and Tony returning to his natural snarky state, Steve had closed himself off, shutting himself away and whilst stammering out his apologies had missed the worried glanced that his friends had thrown his way. Steve had rushed off and Tony had looked a mixture of triumphant and hurt until he’d realised what had happened when Bucky had run off after Steve before he could do something stupid. Tony had tried to follow but he had stopped him with a glare, his presence would only make it worse. He could apologise later but at that moment Steve needed a distraction. So he followed Steve and just sat next to him and blabbered on about anything and everything that he could think off, his sentences starting with _‘You remember when...’_ or ‘ _You know that time when...’_ , talking about the good ol’days, in simpler times. He managed to get Steve laughing by the end of the evening and he prided himself in that. Then had come time to sleep and well, that’s where they were now.

“You’re not gonna drive ‘em away, Punk. You’re a family and families stick together. If they can tolerate Tony, they can tolerate you,” His tone was light and soothing. He could feel Steve melting into sleep as his breaths even out and become deeper. Bucky manoeuvres them, just like back when Steve was a 100 lb when wet asthmatic and would drop off to sleep and the drop of the hat, so that Steve is lying on top of his chest, his arms loosely wrapped around him.

“- And even if they did leave you again, you’ll always have me. ‘Til the end of the line, pal.” He muttered under his breath, making sure not to wake him up again. He followed Steve's even breaths until he, too, fell asleep.

* * *

 

The next morning Bucky woke before Steve, not moving, making sure that he wouldn’t nudge Steve awake, kid deserves the sleep. He looked down at his friends sleeping face and marvelled at how young he looked in sleep, the team might forget it sometimes but Steve is young, take away the time he spent on the ice he’s easily the youngest on the team- Minus that new kid, Peter or something- at 28 years old. He shook his head slightly at the thought, settling down, still avoiding waking Steve. Then the door opened and it took everything he had to not either jump or shout at whoever was coming in. It just so happened to be Tony, who looked like he was about to say something but then decided against it when Bucky glared at him and slowly moved his hand from Steve’s back and dragged it across his throat, slowly saying,

“If you wake him up, you won’t make it to tomorrow.”

Bucky is pretty sure that Tony shit himself as he fled as fast, and as quietly, as he could.


End file.
